Dance With My Father
by FullMetal191
Summary: Tony Stark's daughter is looking at a picture and thinks about how well a song that's playing on the radio fits the both of them. Again, I suck with summaries.


Title: Dance With My Father

Pairings: Tony Stark and Pepper Potts

Rating: Teen (Just for a character death. Better be safe than sorry.)

Summary: Tony Stark's daughter is looking at a picture and thinks about how well a song that's playing on the radio fits the both of them. Again, I suck with summaries.

Author's Note: I came up with this little story while listening to Luther Vandross' Dance With My Father. And I thought what if Tony had a daughter and something had happened to him when his daughter was still just a kid. It also has Pepper in it, hence the pairing. It's in the POV of Tony's daughter Jennifer. Also, when the text is italicized, it's a flash back when Jennifer was a young kid.

Disclaimer: I don't own Iron Man or Tony Stark. Darn you Robert Downey Jr for portraying Tony Stark so well. And darn you for being sexy too.

* * *

She was very much a daddy's girl. When she was younger, you couldn't separate her away from her father. Even if her father was the famous Tony Stark or his superhero alter Iron Man.

Jennifer Stark was looking at a picture that had her parents and herself in it when she was younger. Pepper was standing up while Tony was seated, holding her close to him, like he always had done.

She was playing the radio as she was looking at the picture and she couldn't help but to smile since it reminded her of her father and herself. At the same time however, those were the only memories she had of her father when she was younger. When her father went away as Iron Man one day, a bad accident happened and he didn't make it when he was transported to the hospital. She would never forget the look on her mother's face when her Uncle Rhodey told her what happened.

The suit had taken massive damage to it. Most of its systems were malfunctioned and his thrusters were barely online. That's what she heard Rhodey telling her mother.

"_What happened…?" Worry was clearly written on her face as she looked at Rhodey. "What happened to Tony…?"_

"_I was speaking with Tony at the time when he managed to get a call out. He was telling me about how badly the suit was damaged and that he was trying to get back. The thrusters were starting to malfunction at that point. So, I started to track his location. But then, he was ambushed and our connection got cut off… When we picked up his location, I saw that the suit had some serious damage. When I got the suit off of him, I noticed that he wasn't responding to me. We got him loaded up on the chopper and took off towards the hospital. By the time we got there…we lost him… I'm sorry Pepper… He didn't make it…" Rhodey explained to Pepper._

_A younger Jennifer was crouched down on the steps, out of view from her mother and Rhodey talking. When she heard Rhodey telling her mother that her father didn't make it, her eyes widened. No, he must be lying. Her father was Iron Man, that wasn't possible. But when she saw her mother hug her father's best friend and saw how upset she was, she knew then it wasn't a lie. And besides, Rhodey wouldn't make up something like that about her father, his best friend._

Her mind reverted back to the song as she listened to the lyrics. Jennifer missed her father dearly. Every time she listened to this song, tears would come to her eyes. She missed spending time with her father. The same goes for her mother.

_Pepper came home one day after a long day of work and she heard some music coming from the living room. When she walked into the room, what she saw instantly brought a smile to her face. She saw Tony holding onto Jennifer dancing. A smile was on his face and Jennifer laughing, obviously having the time of her life. When Tony saw Pepper, he motioned for her to come over and he took her into his arms and all three stood there, dancing together. Little Jennifer loved those moments with both of her parents together. But whenever it involved her father, it was just a little bit more special to her. _

Back when I was a child  
Before life removed all the innocence  
My father would lift me high  
And dance with my mother and me  
And then  
Spin me around 'till I fell asleep  
Then up the stairs he would carry me  
And I knew for sure  
I was loved

If I could get another chance  
Another walk  
Another dance with him  
I'd play a song that would never ever end  
How I'd love love love  
To dance with my father again

Her father had that ability to just walk into the room and your day would brighten up, no matter how bad it would be going. That's how he was. There would be times when her and her mother would disagree about some things. It would range from her room not being clean enough to not getting any dessert after dinner.

When I and my mother would disagree  
To get my way I would run  
From her to him  
He'd make me laugh just to comfort me  
yeah yeah  
Then finally make me do just what my momma said  
Later that night when I was asleep  
He left a dollar under my sheet  
Never dreamed that he  
Would be gone from me

If I could steal one final glance  
One final step  
One final dance with him  
I'd play a song that would never ever end  
Cause I'd love love love to  
Dance with my father again

"_Now Jennifer, you have to finish all of your dinner, otherwise you can't have any ice cream. That was the deal." Pepper told her young daughter._

"_But Mom, I don't feel like eating it all…" When she saw her mother give that famous "I'm not going to argue" look, she turned to her father and ran to him. She tugged at his pants leg and looked up at him. "Do I have to eat it all?"_

_Tony picked her up and held her close to him. He then tickled at her sides to get her to laugh some then smiled at her. "Yeah, you have to finish it all. Tell you what. Finish up everything, we'll get some ice cream and cuddle up on the couch and watch some Disney movie or something. Sounds like a plan?"_

_She nodded slightly and smiled back. "Okay."_

"_Good girl." He kissed her forehead and took her back to the table and set her back down in her seat._

_Pepper stood, smiling at the way their daughter always ran to him when they would disagree with something. She had been a daddy's girl when she was Jennifer's age but she couldn't stay mad for long. Jennifer was a daddy's girl from the moment she was born and Tony went head over heels for his daughter. He was protective over her and Pepper wouldn't have it any other way. And besides, you didn't want to make Tony mad, knowing he was Iron Man. A few unlucky people learned that the hard way._

_Later on that night when Tony went to go check on his daughter before he went to go to sleep, he slipped a few dollars under her pillow for her. He always loved leaving a surprise for her whenever she would wake up the next morning. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead before he silently walked back out of her room._

Jennifer smiled at another memory that came to her mind of her father and mother as she listened to the lyrics. Whenever she would see her parents together, she couldn't help but to think about how perfect they were for each other. They balanced out each other. But her mother had that uncanny knack to know how to handle her father. Not too many people could deal with Tony Stark on a daily basis and not go a little crazy. Tony was eccentric and he had to constantly feed his ego. But her mother always kept him in check. She always knew her mother was a strong person, even after her father had died. But there were the times when she would catch her mother crying softly from her bedroom. She never made it known that she was at the door.

Sometimes I'd listen outside her door  
And I'd hear how my momma would cry for him  
I'd pray for her even more than me  
I'd pray for her even more than me

_Young Jennifer slowly went to her mother's door. As she got closer to the door, she heard her mother sobbing. And she could hear her mother utter out her father's name. She felt that it wasn't right for her to do be doing that so she went back into her room and slowly closed the door behind her. She walked over to the bed, got on her knees and pressed her hands together. "God, please watch over my momma. She misses Papa so much. She tries to be strong for me but please watch over her. She needs it more than I do."_

I know I'm praying for much too much  
But could you send back  
The only man she loved  
I know you don't do it usually  
But Dear Lord  
She's dying to dance with my father again

Ever since her father passed, she put her mother first before she would put herself. She felt like owed that much to her since her father was their world. He was everything to her and her mother. And even though her father would probably tell her that she didn't have to do that, she felt like she should do it. When the song ended, she couldn't help but to have tears in her eyes because the song described her and her father perfectly. But every day, she wished she could just have one more dance with her father. That is what all she ever would dream of.

Every night I fall asleep  
And this is all I ever dream


End file.
